# "Unite the Right" white nationalist march: Ugliness on full display.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 12, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444 "2017-08-12T15:06:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/21 "2017-08-12T18:26:18Z")

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> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> Not _here_, at least.: “[Shun them, scorn them, punch them in the face. Tear down their monuments, trash their flags, fire them from their jobs](https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/08/12/never-give-nazis-an-inch/#comments).” (Hope he enjoys getting the violence he was advocating for.)

Pedantic response: that was a call for punches in the face, but not banning them from assembling.

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**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/22 "2017-08-12T18:27:18Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> The city, the mayor, and the counter-protesters did.
> 
> Regards,  
> Shodan

The counter-protesters (all of them?) didn’t want them to have the right to assemble? Do you have a cite for that?

And I’m not sure if quibbling about legality of the location of the protest is the same as wanting them to not have freedom to assemble.

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**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/23 "2017-08-12T18:33:48Z")

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> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> Pedantic response: that was a call for punches in the face, but not banning them from assembling.

That’s not much better. ☹

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**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/24 "2017-08-12T18:38:28Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> The city, the mayor, and the counter-protesters did.
> 
> Regards,  
> Shodan

It sounds like you have mischaracterized this entire incident.

Assuming for the sake of argument the facts unfolded exactly as you have reported, the bigots got their protest, the U.S. Constitution prevailed, so what exactly is left other than to condemn their disgusting displays of bigotry? Are you characterizing them as victims here?

As an aside, it’s hard to conceive of an event this high-profile in 2017 _not_ erupting in violence. I have never seen anything like this happen in my lifetime and it kind of boggles my mind. I can only hope the damage is limited.

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**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/25 "2017-08-12T18:41:36Z")

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> [@Spice\_Weasel](#):
>
> It sounds like you have mischaracterized this entire incident.
> 
> …

All the easier to be angry at the ones who were there in _opposition_ to sig heil.

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**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/26 "2017-08-12T18:46:30Z")

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You know, Hitler has become such a punchline and such an internet Hail Mary I think maybe we’ve become desensitized to what the swastika actually represents. It represents the extermination of millions of people based solely on their race. There is no conceivably more monstrous symbol to proudly stand behind.

The tiki torches are vaguely reminiscent of cross burning. Probably not an accident. The pictures of them surrounding the counter-protesters with their torches is creepy as fuck. I’d be pissing myself if I was in the middle of all that hate.

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**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/27 "2017-08-12T18:48:56Z")

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Trump to speak at 3pm. His Sister Souljah moment? Lol

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**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/28 "2017-08-12T18:52:03Z")

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The neo-nazis showed up in body armor carrying automatic weapons. Fuck their rights to assemble.

Lee park is tiny. The city has a right to protect itself. The redneck trash should have been forced out.

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**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/29 "2017-08-12T18:56:43Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> So, the white nationalists wanted to protest the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee…  
> Regards,  
> Shodan

You know that’s not the real reason for the march, right?

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**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/30 "2017-08-12T18:58:19Z")

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There’s a video of the car slamming into the crowd here:

> **[One Dead, Dozens Injured After Car Slams Counter-Protesters at White...](https://gizmodo.com/car-slams-into-counter-protesters-at-the-racist-alt-rig-1797782597)**
>
> Amid the chaos of a canceled “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia attended by white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other members of the so-called alt-right on Saturday, a man who has now been arrested drove a car directly into other...

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**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/31 "2017-08-12T19:06:59Z")

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Multiple videos of the car that plowed into the counter-protesters on Twitter.

[https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Charlottesville%20car&src=tyah](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Charlottesville%20car&src=tyah)

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**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/32 "2017-08-12T19:13:15Z")

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It’s being reported as a ‘‘three car pile up.’’ Can someone explain this?

I’m not watching the video because of my feelers.

Can someone explain to me in legalese why carrying a swastika flag doesn’t count as incitement to violence? I’m not arguing that it does, I’m saying that I’m trying to understand the law. It’s hard for me not to see such a flag as a statement that goes something like, ‘‘Murder all Jews!’’ Yet people post on the internet about wanting to murder all Jews all the time, and that doesn’t count either. I don’t get it. If this doesn’t count, what does? I come up against this question a lot in these types of threads. Like it would be helpful to see some concrete examples of what counts as incitement to violence.

What made this go from a ‘‘peaceful protest’’ to an ‘‘illegal assembly’’? The violence between protesters?

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**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/33 "2017-08-12T19:14:51Z")

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\*\*My wife was hit by that car. \*\* Only on SDMB now while i wait for information about where to go and make some kind of arrangement for animal care. Apparently injured, extent being determined.

Not in the mood for defenders of Nazis right now.

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**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/34 "2017-08-12T19:18:37Z")

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Attempted murder charges at the very least seem in order. Hoping for full recovery for your wife.

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**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/35 "2017-08-12T19:20:58Z")

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> [@Sailboat](#):
>
> \*\*My wife was hit by that car. \*\* Only on SDMB now while i wait for information about where to go and make some kind of arrangement for animal care. Apparently injured, extent being determined.
> 
> Not in the mood for defenders of Nazis right now.

Holy shit, that’s awful. Our thoughts are with you.

Ugh. I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to discuss the driver’s motivations in light of this. I came in here to say that Vox is reporting that it appears the driver was motivated by fear (possibly trying to escape an attack) rather than maliciousness.

I know that is completely irrelevant to the safety of your wife. ☹

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**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/36 "2017-08-12T19:22:54Z")

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> [@Sailboat](#):
>
> \*\*My wife was hit by that car. \*\* Only on SDMB now while i wait for information about where to go and make some kind of arrangement for animal care. Apparently injured, extent being determined.
> 
> Not in the mood for defenders of Nazis right now.

Oh, no, **Sailboat** , I am so sorry.

If an intentional act, I too, hope the perpetrator is prosecuted to the full extent of the law for attempted murder. Of course I hope that your wife recovers fully. There is no excuse for this kind of lawlessness. Your wife is part of the sunshine that disinfects, but the price she has paid is much too high. My sympathies and best thoughts to you both.

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**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/37 "2017-08-12T19:24:17Z")

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duplicate post.

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**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/38 "2017-08-12T19:24:39Z")

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> [@Sailboat](#):
>
> \*\*My wife was hit by that car. \*\* Only on SDMB now while i wait for information about where to go and make some kind of arrangement for animal care. Apparently injured, extent being determined.
> 
> Not in the mood for defenders of Nazis right now.

SHIT!!!  
Hoping for both of you.

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**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/39 "2017-08-12T19:26:14Z")

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> [@Spice\_Weasel](#):
>
> What made this go from a ‘‘peaceful protest’’ to an ‘‘illegal assembly’’? The violence between protesters?

It’s not quite that high of a bar. The violence, even if multiple individual cases, makes a good case for group intent to commit violence. We always used the common law term “unlawful assembly” when it was time for Mr Bullhorn to come out before the big clearance portion of the civil disturbance exercises in my national guard time.

> **[Unlawful Assembly Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc.](https://definitions.uslegal.com/u/unlawful-assembly/)**
>
> At common law, an unlawful assembly is a gathering of at least three
> persons whose conduct causes observers to reasonably fear that a breach
> of the peace will result. Although freedom of assembly

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unite-the-right-white-nationalist-march-ugliness-on-full-display/793444/40 "2017-08-12T19:26:52Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Ugh. I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to discuss the driver’s motivations in light of this. I came in here to say that Vox is reporting that it appears the driver was motivated by fear (possibly trying to escape an attack) rather than maliciousness.

Reports say there were no license plates on the car. Sounds premeditated, to me.

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